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The battle against diabetes in the United States is constant. Type 2 diabetes for the over 40 years category is more common because of increasing obesity which is largely due to the typical American diet. We eat more refined foods and fast foods and we are not getting the exercise that we need. It’s astonishing that almost half of the US Population, either have diabetes, or fall into the Prediabetes category. BUT the best news about this diabetes epidemic is that it’s almost entirely preventable!

Here’s just a few tips when Opting for Fast Food.

Make sure to check out the “healthy options” on the menu, when visiting the big take-out chains.

Noodles area great choice, but make sure you choose an option with an accompaniment low in fat, like veges lean meat or fish.

Japanese food is a great choice – there’s rice rolls with fish or vegetables, sashimi and sushi.

Always opt for boiled rice rather than Fried rice.

Try to avoid the sauces offered for salads and other foods – they can contain as much calories as the meal itself

Can Diabetes be Reversed with Diet and Exercise

In type 2 diabetes, just like with your diet, the exercise program you choose needs to have goals that are achievable, but also rigorous enough to provide health benefits. If you have recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, there’s a good chance you haven’t exercised for quite some time. So take it slow to start! Around 30 minutes per day to start is good – but if you find you can’t manage that all in one stint, then you can certainly break it up into 3 smaller sessions that you can manage.

Walking every day is a great place to start. Just start out with 15 minutes per day and build as you start to improve fitness.

Try and arrange to walk with a friend

Try to increase your daily activity levels in general – by walking the stairs instead of taking the elevator. Parking a little further away from the grocery store and walking the extra.

Get yourself a pedometer to count your steps and motivate you to reach your set goals for the day.

Join a gym or an exercise class. This is good as you will have a class leader to follow, and also there would be someone to help in the event of an emergency.

Managing your Blood Glucose Levels.

Just as regular exercise is an essential part of controlling your diabetes, keeping regular checks on your Blood sugar levels is equally important for type 2 diabetes . Take steps to maintain its range.

Use a Blood Glucose Meter to make random checks of your blood sugar levels several times during the day. There are many types of blood glucometers available. Choose one you like and use as indicated several times a day to record your levels.

According to researchers in Denmark, drinking alcohol – three to four days per week, can reduce your risk of developing diabetes. Researchers in Denmark examined alcohol consumption patterns and found that people who drink moderately on three to four days per week are less likely to develop diabetes compared with abstainers. Wine is particularly beneficial because it is rich in compounds that help maintain blood sugar balance. The findings were published in the journal Diabetologia and the study was conducted by researchers from the University of Southern Denmark.

Diabetes arises when the body’s ability to use or make insulin is impaired. If this chronic disease is not controlled, it can result in hyperglycemia and this can cause serious damage to various organs in the body especially the eyes, heart, kidneys, nerves and blood vessels. The proportion of people living with diabetes worldwide has risen from 4.7% in 1980 to .5% in 2014.

In 2015, 1.6 million deaths were directly attributed to diabetes and high blood sugar was responsible for another 2.2 million deaths.

So Can Alcohol Lower Diabetes Risk?

Studies that have explored the relationship between alcohol consumption and the risk of developing diabetes have established that moderate to light consumption is linked to lower risk compared to abstaining. However, most of these studies have only examined the volume of consumption without looking at how the volume of consumption is spread over time.

The Danish researches also noted that although other studies explored drinking patterns such as number of drinking days each week and the effects of various types of alcoholic, their findings were inconclusive. Therefore, they decided to examine the link between alcohol consumption patterns and the risk of developing diabetes in the Danish population. The researchers analyzed responses from a total of 70,551 participants (41,847 women and 28,704 men) without diabetes. All the participants had answered questions about health and lifestyle and provided detailed reports abouts their alcohol drinking habits.

The participants were keenly followed until 2012 (for an average of 4.9 years) during which the researchers found out from the national diabetes register that 87 women and 859 men had developed diabetes.

Yes – The Types of alcoholic Drink Matters!

From the information, the researchers also determined drinking patterns, average weekly intake, consumption of different beverages and binge drinking. The team asked participants about their consumption patterns of specific types of beverages and their frequency of consuming alcohol.

Therefore, the researchers were able to classify participants into categories:

current and lifetime abstainers;

people who drank on 5 to 7 days each week;

on 3 to 4 days per week;

on 1 to 2 days each week;

and on less than 1 day each week.

A standard alcoholic drink in Denmark contains 12 grams of pure alcohol. This is less than the standard drink in the U.S which is 0.6 ounces (14 grams) of ethanol. The team also assessed binge drinking (drinking 5 or more drinks in one session). Binge drinking was classified into 3 categories:

more than one day per week,

less than 1 day per week,

and never.

The team also categorized drinking patterns for 3 types of alcoholic drinks: spirits, beer and wine. These drinks were assessed as: 7 or more drinks per week; between 1 and 6 drinks per week; and less than 1 drink each week. However, for men this category was further divided into: 7 to 13 drinks per week, and 14 or more alcoholic drinks each week.

When analyzing the data to determine the link with diabetes, the team adjusted the information to make allowance for the effect of other aspects that might influence it. Some of these factors include:

sex,

age,

smoking,

education level,

BMI (Body Mass Index),

blood pressure (previous or current),

leisure activities,

family history of diabetes,

and type of diet (such as fiber levels, fish, vegetables and fruit).

The study showed that participants who consumed moderate amounts of alcohol in terms of average consumption per week had the lowest diabetes risk.

Women who drank 9 drinks per week had a 58% lower risk of developing diabetes, and men who consumed an average of 14 alcoholic drinks each week had 43% lower diabetes risk compared with abstainers.

After analyzing drinking patterns, the researchers also found that participants who drank alcohol on three to four days each week had the lowest risk of diabetes. For women, the risk of developing diabetes was 32% lower and for men it was 27% lower compared with participants who only consumed alcohol on less than one day per week.

However, analysis of binge drinking data did not show any clear link to the risk of developing diabetes. The Danish researchers say that this might be due to the low number of participants who actually reported binge drinking. This made it difficult for the team to produce meaningful statistical result.

So – Which Alcoholic Drink is Best for Diabetes?

WINE

When it comes to the type of alcoholic drink, just as previous studies have found out, the team also discovered that high to moderate wine consumption is linked to a significantly lower diabetes risk.

They attributed this to the fact that red wine contains polyphenols, which help control blood sugar.

Compared with consuming less than one each week, drinking at least 7 drinks of wine per week is linked to a 25% to 30% lower risk of diabetes.

BEER

On the other hand, in terms of drinking beer, the study showed that men who drink between 1 and 6 per week had a 21% lower riskof diabetes, compared with men who drink less than one drink per week. However, for women, the study showed no ties to the risk of diabetes.

SPIRITS

In terms of spirit consumption, the team established that there’s no significant tie between the amount of spirits men drank and the risk of developing diabetes. The study also found that women who consume 7 or more drinks of spirits each week had an 83% higher risk of diabetes compared with those who had less than one drink each week.

These finding suggest that the frequency of drinking alcohol is linked with the risk of developing diabetes. Moreover, consuming alcohol over 3 to 4 days is linked with the lowest diabetes risk.

How Does Exercise Help Type 2 Diabetes?

Exercise is good for us all – especially those with diabetes. With the correct amount of exercise to suit the individual and a sensible diet, there would be many type 2 diabetics out there that could avoid taking medication altogether!

There is no denying the importance of exercise for keeping healthy if you have diabetes. Exercise is vital for both Type 1 and type 2 diabetics helping the body to:

Respond better to insulin and reduce the amount of medication they take.

To keep circulation healthy in their arms and legs

To reduce their risk of depression

To keep their metabolism healthy and their muscles strong- this in turn helps with maintaining a healthy weight. Strong muscles also help to maintain independence with age.

What Exercise is Good for Diabetes?

If you have diabetes and you haven’t exercised for a while, you need to take it slow. OK so you can go out and hire a personal trainer, or even join the local gym but to be honest it’s really not necessary. Don’t over think this – there’s easier and cheaper ways out there that you can get all the exercise you need.

Good old fashioned walking. All you really need is some comfortable clothing and a good pair of walking shoes! And if you are lucky enough to live close by a beach, you don’t even need the shoes!

Always good to take it easy to start – even just 20 or 30 minutes per day – 5 days a week if you can manage it. This is going to help you see improvements in your haemoglobin A1C, your triglycerides and cholesterol. As you gradually build this up to 90 minutes per day, you really start to see the difference that exercise makes to your life. How you feel, how you look and even blood pressure!

Swimming is also another ideal exercise for people with Type 2 diabetes. Some diabetics also experience other conditions, like arthritis which can often make other forms of exercise painful and uncomfortable. Being in the water is less stressful for your body as it doesn’t put pressure on your joints. It’s also much easier on your feet. Swimming is great for weight loss and diabetes is quite often a factor with regards to obesity.

Exercise and Diabetes Prevention – Make Exercise a Habit!

If you have diabetes, you will certainly need to look at how you incorporate exercise into your daily life now. You need to make exercise a habit, that will in time become part of your life. If you find it difficult to get out to a park or beach to go walking, or you’re just not really into going to gyms, then perhaps have a look at all the FREE Apps that are available for your smart phone or Tablet! I love the 7 minute workout apps, and even the gentle stretching sessions that you can actually do just about anywhere! How about getting some diabetic exercise videos – or even getting into some gentle yoga exercise for diabetes.

Getting your daily dose of regular exercise doesn’t have to be expensive or that time consuming – you just have to commit to making it part of your daily life routine!

Apple Has A Top-secret Team Working On The Next Version Of The Diabetes Watch

Over the last decade, we have witnessed an acceleration of modern technological advances especially for people suffering from diabetes, a medical condition that affects over 30 million Americans.

These advances are promising diabetes patients,

fewer injections,

less pains,

less worry and

less mental math about managing this condition.

These new systems provide real time and more accurate information on blood glucose through built-in clinical support algorithms, apps, automated insulin delivery and wireless technology that reduce diabetes complications and the burden in general.

Apple Hires a Secret Team to Develop New Diabetes Treatment System

According to CNBC, AAPL (Apple) has hired a team of biomedical engineers to work on a sensor that will detect blood sugar levels, sparking reports of the company embedding the new sensors into wearable devices that could potentially be “must haves” for diabetes patients. However, it could be a long time before this new technology is actually available on the market. This initiative was envisioned by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, to develop a sensor that can continuously and non-invasively monitor blood glucose levels to better treat diabetes.

There are some recent successes: CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitoring) systems including the Dexcom G5 Mobile continuous Glucose Monitoring System. This system uses a sensor through a very tiny catheter that is usually slipped just under the patient’s skin in order to provide glucose readings every five minutes. The sensor transmits information wirelessly to a stand-alone smartphone or receiver to alert the patient of downward or upward trends in their blood glucose so they can take appropriate pre-emptive action.

If successful, this revolutionary initiative by Apple could help diabetes patients turn various devices such as the Apple Watch into essential must haves. The breakthrough might be a holy grail for diabetes patients because many life sciences organizations have tried to no avail. Tracking blood sugar levels accurately and non-invasively has proven to be highly challenging. However, According to people familiar with the matter, Apple has been carrying out feasibility trials and has hired a team of consultants to figure out the proper regulatory pathways.

The initiative has been going on for more than five years. Steve Jobs envisioned a wearable device like the Smart watch being used to accurately monitor vitals such as blood glucose, heart rate and oxygen levels. Apple quietly acquired Cor in 2010 after the then CEO Bob Mersserschmidit sent Steve a cold email about sensor technologies for human health and wellness. However, Bob later joined Steve jobs’ Apple Watch team.

The team reports to Apple’s vice president of hardware technology, Johny Srouji. As of a year ago, about 30 people were reportedly working in this group. However, it is speculated that about a dozen experts from companies such as Sano, Masimo, C Vital Connect, C8 Medisensors and Medtronic have joined this secretive group while others joined the team dedicated to the Apple Watch.

The Diabetes Apple Watch Faces An Uphill Battle

According to three people familiar with the matter, Apple is dedicated to developing an optical sensor which will measure indications of blood glucose by simply shining a light through the patient’s skin. John L. Smith described this as one of the most difficult technical challenges he has ever encountered in his career. The process has been littered with failures but this has not stopped companies from attempting to crack this lucrative yet elusive opportunity.

Terrace Gregg, Dexcom Executive chairman told Reuters that to succeed, companies would incur several hundred dollars. However, the breakthrough would me a huge advantage for millions of people suffering from diabetes, open up potential channels for patients to track their blood glucose and spur new medical research. The Apple Watch would provide an easier and more convenient way for consumers to track their blood glucose.

However Apple is not the only company eying the elusive opportunities in this field. Google’s life sciences team, Verily, is also working on a smart contact lens that will measure blood glucose through the eye. In 2015, the team also partnered with Dexcom to develop a device no bigger than the normal bandage that measures blood glucose.

According to the report by CNBC, Apple has hired an anonymous office away from its headquarters for biomedical engineers to work in total secret. The report also indicates that the team has been so successful it’s already conducting trials of the new sensor at various clinical sites in the Bay Area, San Francisco. The team’s recent success is the main reason why Apple has hired consultants to navigate the process of getting approval by the FDA.

One of the practical issues the team aims to overcome is the fact that reading blood glucose using optical issues is hard. On the other hand, there are numerous companies that have tried using non-invasive monitoring for blood glucose and failed. For instance, HealBe’s Go Be promised to count calorie intake non-invasively and failed terribly.

Right now, inserting a sensor just below the skin is the only effective way of continuously monitoring your blood sugar level. Continuous blood glucose monitors use internal sensors that connect with external transmitters that are often held, for example, on the thigh, tricep or stomach. Even wearables such as the KTrack use very tiny needles that are burrowed into the patient’s skin.

Statistics from the WHO (World Health Organization) show that there are more than 422 million diabetes patients in the world. That is up from about 10 million in 1980, a very sharp increase for a condition that is know to be one of the leading causes of kidney failure, heart attacks, stroke and blindness. Moreover, more than 4 million deaths per year are directly related to complications with diabetes . Therefore, if Apple can innovate, where so many companies have failed, then it will undoubtedly make the number of consumers willing to buy the Blood Glucose Monitoring Watch, increase exponentially!

Turn your Smart Phone into a Smart Blood Glucose Meter!

The Dario Smart Blood Glucose Monitoring System integrates with your smartphone directly allowing you to monitor and track your blood glucose and other important elements, on your phone. This all-in-one system from LabStyle Innovations was launched internationally in 2013 and has been under review by the FDA since then. Dario was given the go ahead by the FDA in December 2015 and it hit the U.S market in mid May 2016.This system is a sleek plastic device that’s about the size of the normal cigarette lighter with a cartridge of 25 strips housed on top and a lancet built into the bottom.

Technical specifications

Blood sample size: Minimum of 0.3 microlitres

Time to process and display results: 6 seconds

Memory: Limited to phone/device memory

Batteries: not required

Averages: 7, 14, or 30 days

Hematocrit range: 20 to 60%

Measurement range 0.6 to 33.3 mmol/L

Weight: 40 grams

Operating temperature: 50° to 113°F (10° to 45°C)

Storage temperature: 36° to 90°F (2° to 32°C)

Altitude: up to 3,400 meters

Dimensions: 104 x 21 x 11mm.

Explore the Features of the Dario Blood Glucose Monitoring System

All-in-one Glucose Monitoring System

Dario Blood Glucose Monitoring System

There are two main things that make the Dario Blood Glucose Monitoring System stand out from other systems. The first reason is that it turns your smart phone into the glucose meter. The second is that the test strip and lancet holder are combined into one, convenient, easy to use and well-designed device. It is ideal for keeping things discrete because nobody would actually guess that it’s actually a glucose meter.

The lancet/needle

The lancet that is housed on one end of the all-in-one device can be accessed by simply snapping off the orange piece. You can also set the needle’s depth, and then pull down the back piece in order to load the needle before pressing the button (orange button) to release it.

Test strips

Test strips are stored on the opposite end of the device. Therefore, there’s no need to carry around several pieces. Moreover, the cartridge that contains 25 test strips simply snaps into place and you just need to remove the white piece you’ll find at the end. The device comes with two test strip cartridges and each cartridge contains 25 test strips.

Meter attachment

The Dario Smart Blood Glucose Monitoring System turns your smartphone into a blood glucose testing meter by simply plugging in a very small attachment into the phone’s headphone jack. The meter attachment is also conveniently stored in the compact all-in-one device.

The meter

The packing clearly explains how users can download the app and set it up on their phones. You can test your blood sugar by simply plugging in the attachment and opening the app. The device will prompt you to carefully insert a new testing strip before placing a drop of blood on the strip. The meter will count down by first filling in a circle before it displays the glucose level. The device uses a color coding system to show if the glucose level is within range, high or within the borderline. It will then take you to a new screen where you’re required to indicate whether it’s a bedtime, pre-meal or post-meal reading and then enter additional information related to physical activity, insulin, carbs and even tags.

App-Tracking and Analytics

The Dario app is easy to use and very intuitive. It logs important data and then displays it in a clear and meaningful way to the end user. You can also set up your own personal profile which mainly includes the type of bolus/basal medication you use, your blood glucose thresholds and hyper/hypo warnings. Moreover, you can set reminders, track food, and sync fitness apps.

Logbook and Charts

The app is designed to automatically store all readings in the logbook. You can also choose if you want to view it as a chart, timeline, or list. The chart graphs up the last 14 days and you can share your logbook as a CSV or PDF file with your phone contacts or even by entering an email address.

On-Demand Sharing

The app also lets you chart more including carbohydrate intake, calories and insulin doses and the results can be shared with anyone such as your doctor or family. Moreover, the statistics tab generally gives you a summary for a day, or the last week (7 days), month (30 days), or 90 days. This summary tells you the number of readings you had, the highest or lowest reading and then breaks the data down by how many readings were in range, average or below and then by how many hypers or hypos you had based on your custom settings. You can also click the summary box to see all the readings that fall into that specific category.

Emergency Hypo Alerts

This is an additional safety feature that once enabled on your device; Dario sends a text message to 4 people with your current blood glucose level and a link to where you are using your device’s GPS coordinates. This feature is ideal for people who have or had hypo problems in the past because they can go anywhere at any time with peace of mind.

What are the Benefits of Dairo Smart Blood Glucose Monitoring System?

This is one of the latest blood testing meters and everything in the system fits perfectly together. Therefore, instead of carrying around your pouch with separate pieces (lancing device, test strips, meters, etc), all you really need is one compact device and your phone

The device is great when it comes to logging everything making your data super convenient to share.

You don’t have to worry about charging your meter because the device will work as long as your phone does not run out of charge.

The Dario Smart Meter is very small and compact. The case dimensions are 104mm x 21mm x 11mm. This includes the lancing device, test strips and the meter itself.

The device is compatible with both android (OS 4.12 or higher) and iOS devices (OS 6.1 or higher)

Drawbacks

The device does not sync with other diabetic devices.

Is the The Dario Smart Blood Glucose Monitoring System for me?

If you’re looking for a system that is compact and allows users to log readings directly to their phones, this device is a great option!

Exenatide is an injectable type 2 diabetes medication that is used along with exercise and diet in order to control the blood glucose level. It stimulates the pancreas to produce insulin efficiently when your blood glucose level is high. Exenatide also causes a significant decrease in appetite by slowing the emptying of your stomach. However, Exenatide should not be used to treat type 1 diabetes.

Using medication and making lifestyle changes such as exercising, dieting and quitting smoking will help you improve your health and manage your diabetes. This will also decrease the chances of having a stroke, heart attack and other diabetes related complications including nerve damage, kidney failure, gum disease, and eye problems. Your health care providers will advise you on the best way you can manage your diabetes.

When to Avoid Exenatide for Diabetes.

You should not use Exenatide if you are on dialysis or if you have severe kidney disease, diabetic ketoacidosis or if you have slowed digestion.

Exenetide should not be used together with Bydureon and short-acting or fast-acting insulin.

Is Exenatide Safe? You should tell your health care provider if you have:

High triglycerides

A history of kidney transplant or kidney disease

A history of gall stones or pancreatitis

Digestion problems

A history of alcoholism

Birth control pills should be taken at least 1 hour before taking this medication. You should also tell your doctors if you are pregnant, plan on becoming pregnant or become pregnant while using Exenatide.

Exenetide is not approved for use by people younger than 18 years.

How should I use Exenetide?

Exenatide immediate release, which is also known as Byetta, comes as a liquid (solution) in a prefilled injection pen for injecting subcutaneously.

Exenatide extended release (Bydureon) (long-acting) comes in powder form which is mixed with liquid in a prefilled injection pen or a vial to inject subcutaneously.

Exenatide immediate release (Byetta) should be injected twice per day within one hour before breakfast and dinner. It should not be injected before meals and your doses should be at least six hours apart. The doctor might start you on a low dosage and may switch you to a higher dosage of Exenatide if your blood glucose control does not improve after using the initial dosage for one month. The doctor might also adjust the dosage to make sure you have the best results.

Exenatide extended release solution should be injected once per week, on the same day each week without regard to meals. Use Exenatide exactly as instructed by your doctor.

Diabetics who use Exenatide immediate release need to purchase needles separately. Your doctor will tell you the needles you should use to inject the medication. Always look at your medication before injecting it. Exenatide should be as fluid, colorless and clear as water. Do not use Exenatide in smaller or larger amounts or for longer than prescribed. Exenatide is injected under the skin and your doctor or pharmacist should show you how injections are used and how used syringes and needles should be disposed. Exenatide (Byetta) comes in a prefilled dosing pen with a user manual showing detailed instructions for using the injection pen.

Never share a cartridge, syringe or injection pen with anyone else since this can allow diseases or infections to pass from one person to the other.

Exenatide Dosage Information:

What should I do if I miss a dose?

If you’ve not yet eaten a meal, take the missed dose immediately. However, if it’s almost time for your next dose, or if you’ve already eaten, skip the dose you’ve missed.

Kidney problems: Difficult or painful urination, little or no urination, swelling in your ankles or feet, short of breath or feeling tired.

Pancreatitis: Severe nausea and vomiting, severe pain in the upper stomach spreading to the back, or fast heart rate.

Feeling jittery and weak

Constipation, diarrhea, heart burn.

Seek emergency medical help if you notice any signs of allergic reaction to Exenatide; rapid heartbeats, hives, difficult breathing, feeling light headed, itching, and swelling of the face, throat, tongue or lips.

What drugs that can affect Exenatide?

Your doctor might recommend that you stop using:

Birth control pills

Antibiotics

Blood pressure medication

Pain medication

Oral diabetes medicine or insulin

Warfarin (Jantoven, Coumadin)

Exenatide might make it difficult for the body to absorb oral medication. Therefore, it is vital to tell your physician about all the medication you are taking including herbal products for Diabetes, vitamins and over-the-counter medicines.

How do I help my Child with Diabetes?

Having childhood diabetes is a tough road to have to travel, for both the Child and for the family who loves that child! It will be a real shock for you at first, however you and your family will learn to adjust to living with Diabetes. Thankfully you can make it a little easier by planning ahead and speaking openly to your child and others about their disease. The child has nothing to be embarrassed about, and this issue should not be hidden. In fact, hiding it can be a lot more dangerous than letting everyone know, plus being open will make your child feel more normal rather than as if they have a bad secret to keep. You should still encourage your child to strive to achieve their highest goals – there are so many celebrities, rock stars, Olympic athletes and sports men and women who live with diabetes.

Plan Ahead

Every day has to be planned ahead to include meals, snacks, testing, and injections. For small children there are risks all over the place in terms of food that they cannot have. Because of this, it’s important to let your child have some planned treats occasionally so they don’t feel left out. The truth is, what’s good for your diabetic child is also good for other children.

Diabetic Kids – They’re Not That Different

Children should eat a healthy, balanced diet, stay hydrated with non-sugar sweetened beverages and get plenty of activity each day. The only difference is that your child will need to monitor their blood sugar, and take breaks to either give themselves insulin or take medication. Oftentimes this means an adult will need to assist them.

Help your Diabetic Child by Talking to Teachers

Teachers and administrators need to know everything they can about your child’s condition. Some schools today do not have nurses on staff. Sometimes, if your child is not on a pump and you can’t leave work to administer insulin injections, the teacher will be the one to do it and it’ll be up to you to train them how to do it appropriately. Plan to spend a day or two at your child’s school so that you can go through every procedure, and watch them do it as well so that you can feel assured.

School Lunch Ideas for Kids with Diabetes.

There are so many choices really, for school lunches for Diabetic children. Actually, it’s probably no different than what an ‘ideal’ lunch box for anyone should look like! You need to pack fun and healthy foods that will give them enough energy to get through the day – and to help manage their blood sugar levels. Here are a few examples :

Hard cooked eggs

Rice or pasta, with some grilled chicken or fish

Some cubed ham or turkey, with some dipping sauces

Hummus with some pita bread

Salads with some grilled chicken

Baby carrots

Cubes of low fat cheese.

Yoghurt with some sliced pear

Crackers

Seedless Grapes

Vegetable sticks like celery, carrot or cucumber, with some hummus to dip in

Wrap some thin sliced roast beef, around veges, or breadsticks

Dealing with Other Children, when your child has Diabetes

If your child has diabetes, the best way to deal with other children is to make them part of helping your child stay safe and healthy. Offer to teach your child’s class about diabetes. Bring a fun interactive presentation and make your child feel special. A nice party with appropriate and healthy food to top it off will help. This will certainly make your child feel just like all the other children in their class

Set a Good Example for your Child with Diabetes.

Don’t eat foods in front of your child that they cannot have. Don’t have food around the house that your child cannot have. Live a healthy life along with your child, and let your home be your child’s safe place away from temptations and the feeling of being left out. It’s not right to have those things around or at the dinner table if your one of your children can’t have them.

Most children with diabetes will live long lives and maintain their health as long as they’re taught how to care for themselves appropriately. Pay attention to their meals, calculate and teach them to calculate their carbohydrates, and ensure that they get their insulin on time in accurate dosages every single day!

Best Lotions for Diabetic Feet

Diabetes can cause deprivation of oxygen to your skin, leading to poor circulation that might lead to severe, chronic dryness, slow healing, redness, cracking and itching. This basically means that diabetics can get injured more easily and are more likely to get infections that take longer to heal. Here are some of the best lotions for diabetic feet that can help alleviate these diabetes complications:

Neoteric Advanced Healing Cream

Neoteric advanced healing cream provides treatment for cracked, damaged and chronic dry skin. One of its main ingredients is TriOxygenc which helps infuse oxygen into your skin. This diabetic skin care cream is proven to speed healing and increase circulation by strengthening natural defenses of the skin. It provides instant soothing action by quickly restoring your skin to a healthier, smooth soft texture.

Apply as often as necessary or as directed by the healthcare expert or physician. Daily use is recommended to help maintain the skin’s soft, healthy appearance.

Gold Bond Ultimate Hydrating Lotion – Diabetic Skin Care Lotions

With diabetes, your skin can become rough, cracked and uncomfortable. Gold bond ultimate hydrating lotion is specifically formulated for dry skin with hydralast and seven intensive moisturizers to hydrate and soothe the skin while adding a strong protective layer of moisture for up to 24 hours. Gold bond ultimate hydrating lotion is ideal for daily use and does not contain any harsh alpha hydroxyl acids that irritate the skin.

Eucerin Diabetics’ Skin Relief Body Lotion

Eucerin diabetics’ dry skin relief lotion is specifically designed to leave the skin feeling comfortable, hydrated and healthier all day long. This unique, non-greasy formula is enriched with alpha hydroxyl which repairs and exfoliates dry, flaky skin. Besides smoothening dry, rough skin, Eucerin diabetics’ skin relief body lotion noticeably improves overall skin condition and appearance just after one use! It is designed to repair, enhance and protect your skin, giving you the confidence that comes from healthy-looking and radiant skin.

Benefits

The alpha hydroxyl formula smoothens rough, dry skin after just one use

Fast absorbing and lightweight

Fragrance free

Clinically proven formulation that provides 24-hour moisture

Paraben free

Dermatologist recommended brand

How to use

Apply liberally over rough, dry skin every day or as recommended by the physician. Apply immediately after showering or bathing for best results.

DiabetAid Pain and Tingling Relief Lotion

Diabetes can cause two main problems that hurt your legs and feet. One complication is damage to the nerves which leads to an infection or a sore. The other problem is blood flow which can make it hard for an infection or sore to heal. However, if you check for sores or cut sand wash your feet and hands with mild soap, chances of infections are greatly reduced. Sometimes you may also feel a tingling sensation in your hands and feet. Applying DiabetAid pain and Tingling Relief Lotion will relieve those uncomfortable sensations.

Benefits

Soothing relief for uncomfortable tingling in the feet and hands

Contains 4 essential moisturizers to relieve dry, rough skin

Does not contain any ingredients that are considered harmful or dangerous to diabetics.

How to use

Apply to affected areas daily but you should avoid applying more than 4 times per day. Children under 2 years should consult a doctor for directions and recommendations.

What is Diabetic Nerve Pain?

One of the most common complications of diabetes is damage to the autonomic or peripheral nerves, commonly known as neuropathy. Besides causing losses in motor and sensory function, diabetic neuropathy can also lead to foot ulcers and debilitating pain which may lead to amputation. Although conventional treatment of neuropathy is limited to good nail and foot hygiene, early detection of ulcers and the use of strong pain killers such as opioids and antipileptics, studies have found that some nutritional supplements are capable of reversing diabetic neuropathy.

Acetyl-L-Carnitine – A Neuropathy Supplement

Acetyl-L-Carnitine is a nutritional supplement that can bring relief to diabetic neuropathy sufferers. Studies show that patients who are treated with Acetyl-L-Carnitine show significant improvement in NCV (nerve conduction velocity), pain and amplitude.

The greatest improvements in nerve conduction velocity are usually seen in the motor peroneal nerve, the sensory ulnar nerve and in the sensory sural nerve. On the other hand, the greatest change in amplitude was in the mortal peroneal nerve. Besides improving nerve function, acetyl-l-carnitine also stimulates nerve fiber regeneration. Take 500 mg to 1000 mg per day.

Alpha Lipoic Acid

This extraordinary antioxidant has been shown to improve numbness, burning, diabetic pain and other symptoms of neuropathy. Antioxidants have proven to be very important particularly because diabetes unleashes free-radical damage in the body which leads to nerve and vascular damage that underline various diabetic complications. Take 600 mg to 1200 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid per day.

Biotin for Diabetic Nerve Pain Relief

High doses of biotin may improve the symptoms and complications of diabetic neuropathy within 5 to 8 weeks. This is attributable to enzyme pyruvate carboxylase which is biotin-dependent and it helps prevent the depletion of aspartate and the accumulation of pyruvate. Both play very important roles in nervous system function.

Exercise and Physical Therapy Treatment for Diabetic Neuropathy

One of the best ways to manage diabetes symptoms is exercise because it helps patients maintain healthy weight, control high blood pressure and blood sugar symptoms, improve range of motion, and increase strength in addition to other numerous benefits of regular exercise.

The Journal of Diabetes Complications published a study in 2012 that found that exercise increased intra-epidermal nerve fiber branching and also caused significant reduction in pain and other diabetic neuropathic symptoms. You can work your way up gradually to exercising for about 30 to 60 minutes per day, doing different low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming and cycling. This will lower blood glucose and help your body respond to exercise better. On the other hand, exercise helps protect nerves by lowering stress, reducing cholesterol and improving circulation which can increase inflammation by raising your glucose levels.

Physical therapy is also very important in the treatment for diabetic neuropathy – because it improves daily functioning by increasing mobility and muscle strength. You can talk to your doctor or physical therapist about any pain you might be experiencing so they can recommend special orthopedic shoes and inserts, which will improve your ability to get around by reducing the symptoms of diabetic neuropathy.

Capsaicin Cream

Capsaicin cream blocks pain signals by using ingredients found in hot pepper. However, you should keep in mind that capsaicin products can cause skin irritation in some patients. Capsaicin cream is also available as a patch, jelly or lotion and you can simply apply the cream to areas where diabetic pain is strong in order to relieve pain.

You should talk to your physician before using any treatments based on capsaicin because some capsaicin products can cause dangerous side effects on sensitive or irritated skin and opens sores. The skin might also be more sensitive to different sources of heat including the sun. Therefore, it’s extremely important to avoid excessive exposure to heat or sunlight when using capsaicin lotions and creams.

Lower Diabetic Nerve Pain Naturally

In case you have already developed diabetic neuropathy and are looking for effective ways to improve daily function and lower pain, you’ll be very glad to learn that various natural ingredients can help. Several anti-oxidants and antioxidants lower pain and stop nerve damage from progression. These natural remedies include:

Vitamin B12: Most diabetes patients seem to be low in this vital nutrient, which worsens nerve damage.

These natural treatments for diabetic neuropathy have proven to be highly effective and reliable. However, it can take sometimes for diabetes neuropathy to see improvements. Therefore, it’s extremely essential to be patient and try various different combinations until you find true relief.

The routine activity of pricking fingers to monitor blood glucose levels is quite hectic for most people with diabetes. Despite this dreadful daily process, the management and control of diabetes is very important. Fortunately, new glucose meters that don’t require blood, for checking blood glucose levels are being developed by numerous companies around the globe, as we speak – welcome relief for many, many diabetes sufferers.

FreeStyle Libre

FreeStyle Libre by Abbott is an entirely new glucose monitoring concept that provides much greater data than CGM (continuous glucose monitors). The readings are provided by simply scanning a sensor instead of pricking your finger.

Main advantages of FreeStyle Libre

Lightweight and compact to carry around

It provides a graph of how glucose levels are varying just like a CGM (Continuous Glucose Monitor)

Users can see how much results are trending downwards or upwards by simply scanning the sensor.

The FreeStyle Libre sensor is waterproof for 30 minutes in up to 1 meter.

More affordable than continuous glucose monitors.

The backlit color touch screen can be read in the dark

One of the main benefits of FreeStyle Libre is that it stores up to 90 days of data and you can easily analyze your glucose trend over three months.

GlucoWise

GlucoWise allows the concentration of blood sugar to be measured at the blood capillary level. Blood glucose levels are measured by a non-invasive technique by transmitting low-power radio waves (65 GHz) sections of the body such as the earlobe or between the forefinger and thumb. Besides having adequate blood supply, the tissue in these areas is thin enough for the radio waves to pass through.

The radio signals are received by a receiver that collects and analyzes data about the characteristics of your blood. User data is digitally encrypted and transmitted via Bluetooth 4.0 to ensure that user data is never shared with third parties. Data can also be uploaded to secure online database or transmitted to computers using a USB port. Although GlucoWise is still in development, it is expected to be available in late 2016.

Dexcom G5 CGM mobile system

Dexcom G5 is a CGM (continuous glucose monitoring) system that is approved for both adults and children two years and older. Dexcom G5 mobile uses Bluetooth technology that is built into a transmitter that allows for remote viewing of blood glucose levels and trends from compatible smart devices. Users can monitor glucose data by using a Dexcom mobile receiver or the Dexcom G5 mobile app.

Benefits of the Dexcom G5 mobile system

The transmitter is secured on top of the sensor in order to send in order to send data to your receiver or compatible smart device.

Either the Dexcom receiver or a compatible mobile device will display glucose trends in a colorful display so you can easily see when it’s within range, high or low.

With Dexcom G5, users will be alerted directly on their smart devices when they’re heading too high or too low. Moreover, alerts can be customized to appear as text messages for additional privacy and discretion.

Fantastic news, for the diabetes industry, and for everyone patiently waiting in the Diabetes Community too!